News

... an analysis of the transcript of that briefing
by senior administration officials that was the sole basis for the news
stories and other evidence reveals damaging admissions, conflicts with
the facts and unanswered questions that undermine its credibility.

Iran's notification to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of
the second enrichment facility in a letter on Sep. 21 was buried deep
in most of the news stories and explained as a response to being
detected by U.S. intelligence. In reporting the story in that way,
journalists were relying entirely on the testimony of "senior
administration officials" who briefed them at the G20 summit in
Pittsburgh Friday.

U.S. intelligence had "learned that the Iranians learned that the
secrecy of the facility was compromised", one of the officials said,
according to the White House transcript. The Iranians had informed the
IAEA, he asserted, because "they came to believe that the value of the
facility as a secret facility was no longer valid..."

Later in the briefing, however, the official said "we
believe", rather than "we learned", in referring to that claim,
indicating that it is only an inference rather than being based on hard
intelligence.